Dame Joan Ann Plowright, Lady Olivier is better known as Joan Plowright. She is an English actress. Plowright was born in Brigg, Lincolnshire. She is daughter of Daisy Margaret (née Burton) and William Ernest Plowright. The father of Joan Plowright was a journalist and newspaper editor. The biography and movies information of Joan Plowright is given here. Get the photos of Joan Plowright below.
Biography of Joan Plowright
Profile of Joan Plowright
- Full Name:Joan Plowright
- Birth Name:Joan Ann Plowright
- Famous As: Actress
- Date of Birth: October 28, 1929
- Place of Birth: Brigg, North Lincolnshire, UK
- Nationality: British
- Birth Name: Joan Ann Plowright
- Height: 5′ 4½” (1.64 m)
- Occupation: Actor, Director
Family Information
- Father: William Ernest Plowright.
- Mother: Daisy Margaret Plowright.
- Son: Richard Kerr Olivier. Father, Laurence Olivier
- Daughter: Tamsin Agnes Margaret Olivier. Father, Laurence Olivier
- Brother: David Plowright. Executive at Granada Television; forced to resign in February 1992; as head of programming he was responsible for Brideshead Revisited and The Jewel in the Crown
- Daughter: Julie-Kate Olivier. Father, Laurence Olivier
Career
Joan Plowright is acknowledged as one of the finest stage actresses of her generation, who found feature success later in life as a character player along the lines of Alice Brady, Anne Revere and Dame Mae Whitty. Laurence Oliver was married to her in 1961, after marriage she gave first priority to her career needs and she spent much of the 1960s raising their three children and making occasional stage appearances. In several plays, TV specials and the rare film, by the 70s, she and the aging Olivier worked together. Plowright came into her own as a character actress, generally cast as kindly matriarchs or starchy aristocrats after the death of his husband in 1989.
An amateur theater prize was won by her at the age of 15. That prize included a week’s run as a maid in a production with the Harry Hanson Players. The teenager was discouraged by Hanson and she returned home, later winning a scholarship to study at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. As a member of the Royal Court Theatre in such productions as “The Crucible” and “The Constant Wife”, attention was garnered by Plowright. The role of Archie Rice’s daughter opposite Olivier was landed by her in 1957 in John Osborne’s acclaimed “The Entertainer” and went on to repeat the role on Broadway (1958) and on film (1960).
Plowright played the role of an unwed mother in “A Taste of Honey”, a 1961 Tony Award was received by the actress for her performance. The time between family and the London stage is the better part of the next two decades which was spent by Plowright. The London stage is the place where she triumphed as Shaw’s “St. Joan” (1963), as Portia in “The Merchant of Venice” (1970, to Olivier’s Shylock) and in the title role of “Filumena” (1980). Fewer stage appearances were made by her by the end of the 80s at that time her film work increased.
First significant film role was landed in Joseph Losey’s taut thriller “Time Without Pity” (1957) by Plowright. She was cast as the mother of an emotionally troubled son in “Equus” (1977) by Sidney and she was the religious parent of a comatose girl in “Brimstone and Treacle” (1982), scripted by Dennis Potter. As one of a trio of murderous women in the same family (who also shared the name of Cissie Colpitts) in Peter Greenaway’s bizarre “Drowning By Numbers” (1987; released in the USA in 1991), the plummy-voiced actress began to come into her own.
Plowright found herself in demand as a character player, after earning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her depiction of a snooty widow with literary connections in Mike Newell’s “Enchanted April” (1992). Recently, Franco Zeffirelli’s remake of “Jane Eyre” was graced by Plowright, as the housekeeper, was the grandmother of Francoise Gilot in the Merchant-Ivory “Surviving Picasso” and a stalwart nanny was played in Disney’s live-action version of “101 Dalmatians” (all 1996).
Plowright returned to television as the mother of a world-famous opera singer (Nathan Lane) and owner of a family operated vineyard in “Encore! Encore!” (1998) after a featured role in the romantic drama “Dance With Me” (1998). A high society Englishwoman’s role was received by Plowright later in 1999, in “Tea with Mussolini.” Her role as Mary Wallace was a reminder of why Plowright continued to be a sought-after artist. In 2003 another confirmation came when the actress was seen with Steve Martin and Oscar nominee Queen Latifah in the comedy “Bringing Down The House” (2003).
Personal life
The first husband of Plowright was Roger Gage; she was married to Roger Gage (an actor) in September, 1953. In 1961, she married Laurence Olivier, after giving divorced to Roger Gage. Together the couple had three children, Richard Kerr, Tamsin Agnes Margaret and Julie-Kate. Both daughters are actresses. The couple remained married until his death in 1989.
Milestones
- 1935 Won a local drama prize at age 15, which led to a week s work playing a maid with the Harry Hanson Players
- 1948 Professional stage debut at Grand Theatre, Croydon in If Four Walls Could Talk
- 1954 London stage debut in The Duenna
- 1955 Was a member of the company performing at the Nottingham Playhouse
- 1957 Co-starred as Olivier s daughter in John Osborne s The Entertainer
- 1957 Had supporting role in the feature Time Without Pity; directed by Joseph Losey
- 1958 Made Broadway debut in The Entertainer
- 1959 Starred in the BBC telecast of The School for Scandal
- 1960 Recreated stage role opposite Olivier in film version of The Entertainer
- 1961 Won Tony Award for leading performance in A Taste of Honey
- 1969 Directed Evasion of Woman at the Old Vic Theater
- 1970 Returned to features after a ten year absence in film adaptation of Three Sisters ; co-directed by husband Olivier
- 1973 Co-starred with Olivier in the BBC telecast of The Merchant of Venice (aired in the US on ABC)
- 1977 Played the mother of a troubled youth (Peter Firth) in Sidney Lumet s film version of Equus
- 1977 Scored a stage triumph in London in title role of Filumena
- 1980 Cast as Mrs. Frank in the NBC remake of The Diary of Anne Frank
- 1980 Reprised her role in short-lived Broadway production of Filumena ; staged by husband Olivier
- 1983 Last screen collaboration with Olivier, Wagner
- 1990 Co-starred as a Polish/Jewish matriarch in Barry Levinson s autobiographical feature Avalon
- 1990 Had supporting role as Tracey Ullman s Yugoslavian mother in Lawrence Kasdan s black comedy I Love You to Death
- 1992 Co-starred in the HBO biopic Stalin
- 1992 Earned Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as a dowager in Enchanted April
- 1992 Starred in the unsold pilot for a television series based on the hit play and film Driving Miss Daisy
- 1996 Had featured role in the Disney live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians
- 1996 Played the housekeeper in Zeffirelli s remake of Jane Eyre
- 1999 Reteamed with Zeffirelli for the feature Tea with Mussolini
- 2000 Had lead role in the TV-movie Frankie and Hazel (Showtime)
- 2000 Provided one of the creature voices for the animated film Dinosaur
- 2001 Starred as the maid Martha Sowerby in the Showtime movie Back to the Secret Garden
- 2003 Played Steve Martin s billionaire client in Bringing Down The House
- 2005 Cast as Aunt Clara in the big screen adaptation of Bewitched
- 2006 Voiced Miss Plushbottom in Curious George a big screen version of the popular children s books
- 2008 Cast as Aunt Lucinda in the fantasy film, The Spiderwick Chronicles
- Appeared in last joint stage appearence with Olivier in Saturday, Sunday, Monday ; directed by Franco Zeffirelli (aired on British TV in 1977)
- As a child, acted in amateur plays staged by her mother
- Cast as Nathan Lane s mother in the NBC sitcom Encore! Encore!
- Had first major stage success as Margery Pinchwife in The Country Wife ; first caught the attention of Laurence Olivier
- Had stage success with The House of Bernarda Alba ; recreated role for TV (aired in 1991 on PBS)
- Raised in Scunthorpe, England
Movies of Joan Plowright
- Knife Edge (2008)
- The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
- Goose on the Loose (2006)
- Curious George (2006)
- Mrs Palfrey at The Claremont (2005)
- Peace One Day (2004)
- George and the Dragon (2004)
- I Am David (2003)
- Bringing Down the House (2003)
- Global Heresy (2002)
- Callas Forever (2002)
- Back to the Secret Garden (2001)
- Dinosaur (2000)
- Tom’s Midnight Garden (1999)
- Tea with Mussolini (1999)
- Dance with Me (1998)
- The Assistant (1997)
- Jane Eyre (1996)
- 101 Dalmatians (1996)
- Mr. Wrong (1996)
- Surviving Picasso (1996)
- Hotel Sorrento (1995)
- A Pyromaniac’s Love Story (1995)
- The Scarlet Letter (1995)
- A Pin for the Butterfly (1994)
- Widows’ Peak (1994)
- Dennis the Menace (1993)
- Last Action Hero (1993)
- Enchanted April (1992)
- I Love You to Death (1990)
- Sophie (1990)
- Avalon (1990)
- The Dressmaker (1988)
- Drowning by Numbers (1988)
- Revolution (1985)
- Britannia Hospital (1982)
- Brimstone & Treacle (1982)
- Equus (1977)
- Three Sisters (1970)
- Uncle Vanya (1963)
- The Entertainer (1960)
- Time Without Pity (1957)
- Moby Dick (1956)
Personal Quotes of Joan Plowright
“I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry’s marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I.”
“If a man is touched by genius, he is not an ordinary person. He doesn’t lead an ordinary life. He has extremes of behaviour which you understand and you just find a way not to be swept overboard by his demons.” – On Laurence Olivier
Pictures of Joan Plowright:
